Fireworks: Good Idea or Good Way to Get Sued?

By: Carol Dillon
BleekeDillonCrandall

As we approach the July 4th holiday people are lining up at Phantom Fireworks to purchase artillery shells, sparklers, cakes, and any other loud sparkly thing they can get their hands on. I personally am not a fan of fireworks unless it’s watching professional displays from miles away. Yes, you may call me unpatriotic or even un-American. First and foremost, I’ve defended two different sets of homeowners involving fireworks accidents. The first was a neighbor’s boat dock that burned down as a result of neighborhood fireworks and the second was a rogue firework that accidentally hit and injured a child and a relative of the homeowners. If you’re thinking about lighting your own fireworks this year, think twice and think of all the things that could go wrong. They may cause injury, property damage, or cause you to get sued. While they look pretty and sound fun for a while, they always end up making dogs bark and shake with fear, and they inevitably end up in the neighbor’s yard, thus making your neighbors give you dirty looks the next day. So take my advice this year: save your money, save your neighbors anxiety, save your neighborhood dogs, and watch other people’s fireworks instead of setting off your own. You may then be just a witness rather than a defendant in a lawsuit.

Sincerely,

SCROOGE

We Love to Fly and it Shows…

By: Jeb Crandall
BleekeDillonCrandall

As I was working my way through airport security a few weeks ago, I overheard someone in line complaining about the amount of security involved and the “invasion of privacy” he had to endure before boarding a plane. While I didn’t actually do it, I really wanted to turn around and ask him where in the Constitution are we afforded the “Right to Fly?” I may not have paid close attention every day in Constitutional Law class, but I’m fairly certain that clause is nowhere to be found. We should consider ourselves beyond fortunate to live in a time so technologically savvy that we can travel from coast-to-coast in only a few hours, and across seas in just a few more. With each new-found advancement comes the risk of greater trouble and potential for disaster. Therefore, our security measures must keep advancing as well. I am all for personal freedoms, but sometimes we have to make an exception for the good and safety of us all. If this takes an extra “pat down” or scanner that can see through our clothing, so be it. Would anyone really prefer the other option of what can and has happened during air travel? I don’t think so. So, for those who believe that their own individual liberty interests to be free from a security screening outweigh the good and safety of all of us, please feel free to travel this great land of ours the way our forefathers once did – by horse and buggy.